The Sands of Time: YuGiOh! Millennium World
by WolfChild66613
Summary: Marik Ishtar is back! And he's bringing revenge with him in the form of an eternal prison. Will Atem defeat him, or will he be forced into his Millennium Puzzle from all time. In this story, he has much to fight for; in the form of a wife and child. Have fun reading!


The darkly-skinned man awoke with such a gasp, it was as if he had had the very breath of life sucked from him, and he was regaining it back. Truth be told, that situation was so. The man had awoken from a vision brought on by the gold puzzle around his neck. That being so, his soul had been taken from his body in his sleep so that it may enter this puzzle. The imponderable conundrum of these precise gold pieces were a knowledge of himself alone, so its powers were all for him. It glowed against his chest, heated and floating slightly as the strays of light that flowed from the cracks blasted across the walls. The male finally recovered enough to react, his large, tan hands wrapping around it as his eyes closed in concentration. It was too late; however, and his wife had stirred and awoken in the time it had taken him to regain his bearings. He swore under his breath and forced a smile before his wife managed to light an animal fat lantern.

"What is it, my love?" she asked in genuine concern, seeing the sweat rolling down his face and bare back. She spoke in Egyptian, and fluently, at that. Her words flowed regally. His smile faded and he placed his head into his palms with a heavy, exhausted sigh. "Was it that dream again?" she asked, placing a callused hand on his shoulder. He simply nodded, his index fingers massaging his temples before he turned his head to look at her. Purple irises looked to her green ones.

"A sandstorm, Feferi. Swallowing up all of Egypt. All of my people. My family." he said quietly as to not disturb the tiny, bundled-up lump in the handmade crib beside his Queen. Its small form moved up and down slowly, a sign that it was alive, but fast asleep. "The only way that I can even predict this happening is if my cousin has found a way out of the Shadow Realm." he told her with solemn expressions. The white-haired female brought a hand to her mouth and gasped softly, looking less serious than him, yet all the more upset.

"But, these dreams...they are only dreams, right?" she asked him, leaning into him some and hooking her arm around his. He seemed dissuaded. "I hope so, Fef...I hope so..." he said as he put his arm around her and looked back out into the night sky. "Turn out the lamp, my Queen, and lay back down. We shall wake Naka." With that, she did as she was told and laid back down, though it was doubtful that any of them would sleep much more that night.

At sunrise, Atem's favorite priest, Anapestu, knocked upon the door gently to awaken the Pharaoh. He never needed much awakening, and this priest knew that. "Ah, what is it, Reskutep?" Atem asked, rubbing his eyes and pretending he had just awakened. "Breakfast, sire. You have a lot to do today." the older male informed him, then turned and left.

A sigh blew its way past Atem's lips as he laid a hand on Feferi's curvy side. Giving a gentle shake, she awoke with a slow taking in of breath and a tired smile towards Atem. He smiled at her and leaned down to press a kiss on her caramel-colored nose, and, with that, he stood and pulled on his robes. A fine silk imported directly down the Silk Road, the fabric glided across his hairless form and covered the slightly bulging muscles he had been working with most of his free time to enhance.

Feferi soon gathered her own clothing, a blue, purple, and gold-trimmed dress of the same make and fabric of her husband's, and picked up the bundle lump from his crib. Bringing him outside as Atem washed his arms, legs, and neck, and applied incense to his bared skin, she fed him while humming a song that had been played at her and Atem's wedding.

Atem made his way back over to Feferi and smiled, his expression blissful as he heard her hum. "Ah, still the most beautiful voice in all of Egypt." he would coo her way, only to chuckled lightly to himself as he saw the smile that had formed.

"Why, thank you. Naka seems to enjoy it." she mused as she looked down to the feeding child, who now stared at his father in silence.

Atem grinned down at his son before having a seat next to his Queen, his hand coming to rest upon the forehead of his child. "His hair is just like mine..." he mused with a grin.

"So I've noticed." said Feferi with a smile in her tone, though it was invisible to Atem since his purple hues had rested upon Nakamentep. She ran a few fingers through his hair, causing a light giggle and a grip of his hand around one of her fingers. This, of course, caused a chuckle and happy smile from the both of them. "Atem..."

"Hm?"

"Let's try to forget about your dreams...please?"

"Yes, my Queen."

"We're finally building our life together, and I don't want to lose it...or you...to some stupid dream."

"...I agree." he admitted after some pause.

Once Nakamentep had "eaten" his breakfast, the pair gathered up their day's accessories: for Atem, his thin, gold-leaf crown and ankh earrings; for Feferi, her heavily jeweled gold crown, a jade Isis necklace, matching jade earrings, and thin gold bangles. They made their way into the dining room, where a delicious, yet customary breakfast was laid out across the long, wooden table: fresh fruits from the exterior gardens, bread topped with the finest honey available, and beer to drink.

Sitting down, Atem began to eat his food rather quickly, but not to the point of "wolfing down" his food like a scavenger or hungry peasant. Feferi, on the other hand, picked at her food and ate small, tearing nibbles at her bread, and a few grapes.

"Fef? What's the matter? You're eating even _less_ than usual." Atem inquired.

"Just...nervous about today. Lost in thought, as well, I guess." she murmured back to him, barely audible.

With a sigh, the Pharaoh submitted and nodded his head slowly before going back to his meal. "Just...try to eat something. We have a busy day today." he pleaded, purple hues looking concerned and possibly a bit upset.

She nodded back to him in a manner that resembled his earlier one, and began to force down a few rolls of honey bread. She sat and waited, squirming nervously in her chair.

As soon as he stood, Feferi did the same. Almost in sync, they were, by now. Many months they had been living together in the palace, and many more years they had been best friends. They walked together, hand-in-hand, with the baby slung across Feferi's front via a thick cloth wrap. He slept peacefully, as always, and the people they passed looked at the baby with adoring eyes. All but one, single pair, lost in the crowd of faces. All but that one.

The male stood in the crowd, his brown eyes piercing as he scowled in the direction of the pair of rulers. He snarled and turned his visage away fiercely, swiftly. Storming back into his rented hut, he sat down roughly and pounded his fists into the table, splintering it in many places. "ARRRGH! _PHARAOH!_" he roared, all of his frustrations coming out onto the random piece of furniture. But, no, these were merely the surface emotions he felt from his cousin, the Pharaoh. These last three words, indeed, when he spoke them, were filled with so much venom that if they were real, they would kill in an instant. A thick, wide scar ran along the length of his left cheek, a forever reminder of what had transpired during his time away. He sneered, his bruised and bloodied fists swelling with every punch that he finally had to cease. He caught his breath slowly, every breath coming through his teeth like a bestial hiss. At this moment, this time, this place; he vowed revenge.

The Pharaoh stood in front of his secondary throne, waving at the crowd with both of his hands raised, Feferi's in one of them. Her caramel cheeks flushed a bright red and she bowed her head down, the hundreds of stares from the worshippers and priests almost too much for her.

A large grin was offered from the beloved Pharaoh to his people, his followers, his brothers and sisters. "My people! I give you...YOUR FUTURE PHARAOH!" he yelled loud enough to be heard over the roar of the crowd, yet this was nothing compared to the roar that followed this statement. The noise was nearly deafening.

"You see this, Feferi? The people love our son!" the Pharaoh exclaimed, his mouth near her ear to let himself be heard by her. She simply nodded and smiled a bit, the noise finally waking the baby and causing him to cry out. There was, however, another reason for the boy to be crying. Perhaps that was the reason.

Marik Ishtar held his Millennium Rod out in front of him, slightly raised above his head, but not so much as to the point of being completely vertical. He stood upon a raging mound of moving sand churning and rumbling across the desert surrounding the main temple. He muttered curses in Egyptian, spells and enchantments on the Pharaoh and his family, his friend, his followers; everyone he held dear. A storm was coming, and nothing would escape his wrath.

The crowd of people turned and screamed, though, this time, they were much less enthusiastic. In fact, their screams were in terror, and this caused the Pharaoh to react immediately. His Puzzle glowed around his neck, the light almost blinding were one to stare directly into it. "Feferi! Get the baby somewhere safe!" he commanded in terror, his arms and muscular body shielding them as Feferi cowered beneath him. "GO!" he yelled once more, and she went underneath the sacred altar and hid from sight. The people scattered in every direction, and those that weren't quick enough were sucked into the maelstrom, their screams dying out as soon as they were enveloped.

"_Marik!_ _Come down here and fight, you COWARD!_" the powerful Pharaoh commanded to his cousin.

"Pharaoh! You _backstabber_!" Marik screamed back to him. "You would send your own _kin _to the Shadow Realm?! You see this scar? _This scar_ is a forever reminder of the Shadow Creatures I had to encounter within your _Puzzle!_" At this point, the male was roaring every word, so loud that it reverberated off of the seething sand beneath him seemed to repeat the words.

"_YOU KILLED MY SON!"_ Atem roared back just as loudly, filling the entire space around him. To be sure, of all the Millennium Items, the Millennium Puzzle was the strongest. It glowed and pulsed its raw energy as it floated and whipped, hanging beneath the Pharaoh's neck. "My son, having not even entered this earth yet, having done _nothing_ to harm or deceive you, _you killed him!_" And, with this, the Pharaoh launched himself into the air towards Marik, and the two began to fight. Blow for blow, the Pharaoh found himself to be winning, a knee to the jaw and a fist to the nose, crushing and bashing his cousin's face. Marik tried fighting back, his feeble arms blocked each blow, yet in vain. The Pharaoh floored him with a head-butt, and stood over him, glaring with a firey intensity. Of all that he had done to Atem throughout his life, this was, by far, the worst.

Marik knew he was beaten. Throwing his Millennium Rod up into the air, a large wormhole opened in the sky, sucking the Pharaoh and Marik into it. With a scream from Atem, the Pharaoh reached out towards his family, towards the life that was being torn away from him just as it was seeming perfect. Just as his life began to have meaning, now it was being torn away from him. Atem screamed with all his might, with all of his willpower, and his body writhed, contorted, clawed at the bare air as he tried desperately to return to the one he loved. It was then that he began to notice that he had left his body behind, and that Marik had, as well. "_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_ was all he could manage as his body floated into the great beyond. And, with that, all went into darkness as his spirit was drawn forever into the Millennium Puzzle.

This is where our story is concluded...or is it?


End file.
